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RPCs Receive EDA Disaster Recovery Funding
The impacts of Hurricanes Ian and Nicole were experienced statewide with long-term recovery efforts continuing on for the foreseeable future. Four planning council regions were identified by the Economic Development Administration as areas in need of additional resources. Through a competitive application process, the EDA has awarded more than $850,000 in funding to the Central Florida, East Central Florida, Southwest Florida and Tampa Bay Regional Planning Councils. The funding will be used to hire a Disaster Recovery Coordinator in each region. The Coordinators will work with federal, state and local officials as well as community leaders and non-profit organizations to support long-term economic recovery and resiliency activities. Having a dedicated Coordinator will provide each region with a resource to develop and implement plans that support disaster recovery and promote community resiliency. The Northeast Florida Regional Council has also applied for the disaster recovery funding.
Central Florida RPC Assists to Update a "Leaner" Comp Plan
Comprehensive plans can be cumbersome and challenging to navigate, the Central Florida RPC recently worked with the City of Lakeland to create an award-winning leaner comprehensive plan. Originally adopted in 1991, the City of Lakeland Comprehensive Plan contained more than 700 pages of text. To make it more user friendly, the updated Plan was reduced by more than 500 pages and reflects the citizens' vision for their community. All areas of Lakeland were engaged to determine what is important to residents of all incomes, all neighborhoods, and all ethnicities.

The Central Florida RPC drafted amendments to the Plan to unite community visioning and comprehensive planning to guide and balance the future economic, social, physical, environmental, and fiscal management of development and redevelopment of Lakeland. The Plan provides the philosophy and goals, objectives and policies that establish consistency with other City adopted regulations including the City of Lakeland Land Development Code and is consistent with Florida Statutory requirements. To make the Comprehensive Plan leaner and more user friendly, elements are organized by chapters and supporting data and analyses have been updated and relocated to a separate Technical Support Resources document. The Plan may be viewed at Comprehensive Plan | City of Lakeland (lakelandgov.net) and has received several awards including the APA Florida Award of Excellence, the APA Heart of Florida Chapter Award of Merit, National Association of Development Organizations Impact Award, and FPZA Outstanding Coordinated Community Plan & Infrastructure Award.

Apalachee RPC Coordinates Exercise "Operations Timberwolf"
Working with the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, the Apalachee RPC coordinated “Operation Timberwolf”, a multi-location family reunification full-scale exercise. The exercise included more than 170 participants from ten different agencies ranging from the Tallahassee Police Department to the U.S. Marshal Services. Apalachee RPC staff facilitated all exercise design, evaluation, facilitation, and after-action report completion activities.
 
The exercise kicked off as an active-assailant event at Lawton Chiles High School in Tallahassee. After law enforcement secured the school, the Leon County Sheriff’s Office Special Weapons and Tactics and Tallahassee Police Department Tactical Apprehension and Control teams escorted student-actors to secured pick-up zones where Leon County School buses transported them to Godby High School. Once at Godby High School, students were escorted through the reunification process outlined in the Leon County Sheriff’s Office Active Assailant Family Reunification Plan for Schools. “Operation Timberwolf” was a highly informative and successful exercise, and the resulting plan was in place and ready to be executed, if needed, during the 2023 Gubernatorial Inauguration.